Do YOU think Shape‘s interview with LeAnn put husband-stealers on a pedestal?

Here’s a lesson LeAnn Rimes, 28, is learning the hard way: If you want to talk about cheating on your husband and breaking up a marriage, don’t do it in Shape magazine! Readers were so furious with LeAnn’s interview in the Oct. 2010 issue, in which she described leaving ex-husband Dean Sheremetfor then-married Eddie Cibrian, that the magazine’s editor-in-chief Valerie Latona has addressed the readers’ concerns in an e-mail to TooFab! “The cover was not meant to put a husband-stealer on a pedestal,” Valerie writes.

Here’s the full e-mail sent from Valerie to TooFab:

To my dear Shape readers:

You are all in good company (why I’m e-mailing you all together) as you all agree Shape has made a terrible mistake in putting LeAnn Rimes on the cover. Please know that our putting her on the cover was not meant to put a husband-stealer on a pedestal-but to show (through her story) how we all are human. And this woman in particular found strength in exercise in what she said was her most difficult personal moment.

But it did not come across that way … And for that I’m terribly sorry. I hope that we can do better the next time for those of you that will give us another chance.

Humbly,
Valerie

And here’s what Valerie tells HollywoodLife:

In response to the buzz surrounding her initial e-mail, Valerie tells HollywoodLife.com it’s important for everyone to read her words carefully:

“My comments have been taken out of context,” she tells us. “I used the words of the few unhappy readers who wrote in. I stand by the fact that LeAnn’s story is compelling — and her courage and strength in the face of so much adversity is compelling. That is why I put her on the cover of Shape for what is now the third time.

The fact is a mere 40 readers out of almost 6 million readers wrote in to complain calling LeAnn a ‘husband stealer’ and a ‘terrible mistake for Shape. I wrote to those women apologizing that our cover choice did not make them happy — as I have done for other cover stars in the past.”

Now that you’ve read what Shape‘s EIC has to say about the controversy, it’s time to tell us what YOU think! Cast your vote and sound off in the comments section below: Was LeAnn’s cover one huge mistake?